VANCOUVER– With a resource estimate that adds 50% to the silver count, more than triples the manganese resource, and more than doubles the contained zinc and copper at the Hardshell property in southern Arizona, Wildcat Silver (WS-V) is looking to update the project’s economics and move it towards a production decision.
The Hardshell deposit now hosts 7.4 million indicated tonnes grading 178.8 grams silver, 8.08% manganese, 0.1% copper, 1.13% zinc, and 1.1% lead. Inferred resources add 13.3 million tonnes averaging 88.1 grams silver, 8.58% manganese, 0.05% copper, 1.06% zinc, and 0.6% lead.
Combining the indicated and inferred resources, Hardshell now contains 80 million oz. silver, 3.8 billion lbs. manganese, 31 million lbs. copper, 500 million lbs. zinc, and 360 million lbs. lead.
The Hardshell deposit is near surface and completely oxidized. A preliminary economic assessment of the project in 2007 contemplated an open-pit operation with a strip ratio of 6.5 to 1. A mill and sulphur dioxide leach facility would churn through 1,500 tonnes of ore daily, to produce 2.75 million oz. silver, 84.4 million lbs. manganese, 12.6 million lbs. zinc, and 670,000 lbs. copper annually.
Wildcat’s president, Chris Jones, says the next steps will be to update the resource again, with recent drill results, and then to update the mine plan and economic model.
If Wildcat were to build a mine at Hardshell, it would be the first manganese mine in the United States. Without domestic production, Canada and the U.S. must import manganese from the short list of producing countries, which comprises South Africa, Australia, China, Brazil, Gabon, Ukraine, India, Ghana, and Kazakhstan. Manganese is essential in the production of steel, which usually contains 8 to 15% manganese to increase workability and strength while decreasing brittleness, and is also used in aluminium alloys to increase corrosion resistance.
In November, Wildcat announced results from its 2009 drill program, which were released too late for inclusion in the resource estimate. The drill program probed the northwest extension of the deposit and hit mineralization in every hole, leaving it open in that direction.
Hole 103 intersected 93 metres grading 17.1 grams silver, 3.4% manganese, 0.3% zinc, and 0.2% lead from 496 metres depth. Hole 104 had better grades, returning 109.7 metres averaging 75.3 grams silver, 11.8% manganese, 0.2% copper, 8.2% zinc, and 5.3% lead.
Hole 105 cut a 46-metre intercept carrying 105.3 grams silver, 15.8% manganese, 0.1% copper, 2.29% zinc, and 1.66% lead from 191 metres downhole. And hole 109 returned 108 metres grading 68.4 grams silver, 13.69% manganese, 0.1% copper, 1.98% zinc, and 1.75% lead, from 305 metres depth.
The Hardshell property is located 100 km southeast of Tucson, Ariz., roughly 15 km north of the Mexico border. Wildcat acquired the project in 2006 and, in 2007, completed a resource estimate and a preliminary economic assessment.
The new resource update incorporates four important new facets, compared to the 2007 estimate: First, Wildcat had access to the results from 1,251 historical sample pulps and four historic drill holes that were not available in 2007; Second, a new geological model allowed for increased confidence in the extent of the deposit, increasing the inferred tonnage; Third, the new calculation estimated lead content and included lead in value calculations; And fourth, the price of silver was pegged at US$14 per oz., instead of US$8.50 per oz. in 2007.
Wildcat gained 6¢ on news of the updated resource to close at 49¢. The company has a 52-week trading range of 5.5¢ to 83¢ and has 94 million shares outstanding.
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